28 Thursday Jan 2016
This blog is becoming more and more fun, because it makes me stretch beyond my familiar eating habits and branch out to try new things. I have always been scared of jerk chicken, due to the use of scotch bonnets, which have always been way beyond my comfort level of spiciness. But on this day, I decided to be daring.
25 Monday Jan 2016
Posted in American Food, Burgers, Cheesesteaks, and Sandwiches, Greek
“Best gyro you will ever have!” Ernie proclaimed proudly as he handed me my lunch. “I’ve been here running this truck for 37 years, I’ve seen people come and go. But I love it! It is the best thing when people come back and tell me the food is good.” I smiled and thanked him for my lunch. It’s great to see people who love what they do, and I was optimistic about his food. But there was something else that excited me about this warm brown bag of food I was clutching and about to ingest.
22 Friday Jan 2016
Posted in Mexican, Mexican Food, Tacos, Uncategorized
Tags
Burritos, Cash only, Mexican Food, Open for Summer, Tacos, Temple, Temple University, Vegetarian
I must preface this post by saying that I spent fifteen years of my youth living all over California. Mexican food has to be exceptional for me to gush about it. That said, I thought Mexican Grill Stand was decent. The food was freshly prepared and the prices were excellent. Service was friendly and quick, and the portions were sizeable.
21 Thursday Jan 2016
Posted in American Food, Burgers, Cheesesteaks, and Sandwiches, Falafel, Greek
This popular truck always seems to have a line of eager people waiting. Chicken is prepared in almost every way possible – chicken fingers, chicken panini, salads with grilled chicken, crispy chicken sandwiches, chicken salad sandwiches, wraps, chicken cheesesteaks, the list goes on. The menu also includes breakfast menu items like egg sandwiches, omelets, bagels, french toast, and pancakes. Burgers, hoagies, and cheesesteaks round out this varied menu.
Go early or call in to get your order faster. Today I had planned on getting their spicy crispy chicken sandwich and the wait was 20 minutes.
Location: On Montgomery between 13th Street and Broad Street
Phone number: (215) 763-7343
Pay: Cash or Credit
Cuisine: American, Greek
What I tried: Grilled Chicken Salad, Chicken Broccoli Panini
Delivery: No
Yelp: http://www.yelp.com/biz/chicken-heaven-philadelphia
A friend recommended the humongous grilled chicken salad. The chicken is marinated in herbs and lemon, and grilled until perfectly tender. This sits upon a mountain of lettuce, cucumbers, and tomato with a sliced hard boiled egg. A large side of dressing is the perfect amount for the portion of salad. The veggies were fresh and crisp and the meal was filling. Overall, a pretty good deal for $6.75.
16 Saturday Jan 2016
Posted in Asian fusion, Falafel, French, Greek
I have had so many people recommend the crepe truck to me, I finally ventured over to 12th and Norris to try one. I was amazed at the number of combinations available! The Creperie truck lived up to its reputation, with quality ingredients. You could probably eat here everyday for a month and not get have the same thing twice. You can change up toppings and sauces, meats and veggies, and cheeses.
Location: In front of the Tyler School of Art building on 12th and Norris
Phone number: (215) 778-4771
Pay: Cash or Credit
Cuisine: French
What I tried: Sirloin with blue cheese, all veggies; Peach, strawberry, and caramel
Delivery: No
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crepetruck/
Continue reading09 Saturday Jan 2016
Posted in Asian Food, Asian fusion, Tacos
Tags
Asian, Banh Mi, Cash only, Rice Plates, Tacos, Temple, Temple University, Vegetarian
Would you look at the size of these tacos?! I was shocked as I opened up my container to find these huge chicken tacos, topped with pickled onions and sweet red chili sauce, seated on a bed of lettuce, encased in a flour tortilla. I could only finish two of them. Chop Chop is a Vietnamese food truck that serves tacos, banh mi, and rice platters in your choice of chicken or pork. For vegetarians, they have tofu served as banh mi or as a rice platter.
The three huge tacos sell for $6 in any of these flavors. Banh mi are $4.50 and rice platters are $6.50. Every order comes with a free can of soda or bottle of water. They run several rotating specials written on neon lit boards. They also offer several types of hot tea, coffee, and hot chocolate.
01 Friday Jan 2016
Posted in Falafel, Halal, Middle Eastern
The week of Christmas at Temple was pretty much a ghost town. It was rainy and the students and faculty had all vacated the premises. Many of the administrators and support staff also took the days off preceding the Christmas holiday to extend the Winter Break. So as you could imagine, there was very little open on campus for food choices. Luckily for me, those hardworking fellas in the halal carts were still around and happy to serve.
Choosing a halal cart is difficult for a newcomer at Temple, being that there are at least three on Montgomery Street alone. Two of the carts are parked on Montgomery, just past 13th, in front of the Tuttleman Center. The third cart is parked next to the Bagel Hut on Liacouras Walk. That one claims to have higher prices due to inflation, so it costs a dollar more for platters than the other two.
On my first week at Temple, before I started this blog, I ate at the one on the corner of 13th and Montgomery. It was delicious, but after I told my coworkers I had eaten there, they told me I had eaten at the wrong halal cart. They said the one next to it was the best one. I was skeptical because the food I had was pretty good, and you get a platter of food and a canned soda for only $5. But I am humbled to say that they were right.
18 Friday Dec 2015
Posted in Mexican Food, Tacos
The first time I ate lunch on Temple’s campus, I visited this truck and ordered the pork with salsa verde and an order of chips & guacamole. I remember the chips were a bit stale and hard, so I just put the guacamole on my tacos. Delicious! However, a bit pricey at around $10 for 2 tacos and guac and a drink, compared to other trucks nearby. Most trucks on campus are closer to $5 and a lot of them give a free can of soda with a $5 purchase.
15 Tuesday Dec 2015
Posted in Asian Food
Tags
Cash only, Chicken, Korean BBQ, Korean Food, Rice, Spicy, Temple, Temple University, Vegetarian
I have extremely limited knowledge of Korean food, I have only tried Bibimbap, lettuce wraps, and bulgogi. As I got into the line, I planned on getting the bulgogi, but everyone in line before me was ordering the Chicken BBQ or Pork BBQ, so I decided I should try it too.
Here’s where I remind you that I am a spice wuss. Only recently have I tried to delve into the world of chiles. I have stepped up from ordering everything mild to now ordering everything medium, so I’m getting there. When I ordered the Chicken BBQ, I was not expecting chicken marinated and cooked in a sauce of red chiles. Guess I should have done some research first.
12 Saturday Dec 2015
Posted in Asian fusion, Mexican Food, Tacos
Tags
Burritos, Cash only, Fishtown, Mexican, Mexican Food, Tacos, University City
Curry shrimp taco and al pastor tacos with fresh pineapple salsa
I sampled Calle del Sabor tacos at the Manayunk StrEAT food truck festival in September 2015. Spanish for “street flavor,” Calle del Sabor opened their truck in 2012. They have a varied menu with flavors such as Korean pork tacos, curry shrimp, beef brisket, and Baja fish tacos. Rotating specials are often available.
The items I chose were a la carte, so I chose 2 al pastor tacos and one curry shrimp. The shrimp was big and juicy, and bursting with spicy curry. You might be wondering why most of the third taco in the photo is gone. It’s because I was really hungry and I ate most of the shrimp taco before I could take a photo. It was my favorite taco of the two that I tried, and al pastor is usually my favorite.
mobile munchies philly 